The United Kingdom is heading for a shift in power after 14 years of conservative rule. Labour is taking a landslide victory, and party leader Keir Starmer is now elected as Prime Minister.
Change begins now, says Keir Starmer.
Outgoing Rishi Sunak will also resign as Tory leader.
Labour appears to be getting around two-thirds of the seats in the British Parliament's lower house: around 410 out of a total of 650 seats. The balance of power is shifting dramatically after several years of the conservatives having a narrow majority.
Voters have spoken, and they are ready for change, said Keir Starmer on election night, after winning his own constituency in northern London.
Labour leader announces a "decade of change" and says that work will begin immediately. However, he also warns that change will take time.
Sunak apologizes
At 10 Downing Street, outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologized to the British people, before departing for Buckingham Palace, where he requested dismissal from King Charles III.
I have heard your anger and disappointment, and I take responsibility for this defeat, says Sunak.
He announced that he will also resign as leader of the Tory party, although not immediately, but in a more orderly fashion.
The Conservative Tory party is doing its worst election since the 19th century. It appears to be getting around 130 seats in the lower house.
Sunak himself has been re-elected to his parliamentary seat, but nearly half of the ministers in his government have lost in their respective constituencies.
Farage elected
Part of the Tory party's support seems to have gone to the right-wing populist Reform party, led by long-time Brexit agitator Nigel Farage. Farage himself has been elected to the British Parliament for the first time and will be joined by at least a few party colleagues.
The Reform party received around 14 percent of the total number of votes. The traditional third party, the Liberal Democrats, received fewer votes than that – but, unlike the Reform party, managed to become the largest party in many individual constituencies.
The Liberal Democrats will get around 70 seats in Parliament, which is more than the party has had in the last century.
Starmer's first speech
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer succeeded each other in London during the day. When Sunak left Buckingham Palace, Keir Starmer went there for a brief audience, where the King formally offered him the Prime Minister's post.
After lunchtime, Labour leader Keir Starmer stepped out in front of his new home, 10 Downing Street, and appeared for the first time as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. There, he promised to "rebuild the country".
Four nations stand united again. We face, as we so often have in our past, challenges in an uncertain world. Engaged in a calm and patient rebuilding, he says.
61-year-old Starmer has often been described as correct and predictable, but it has also been highlighted as relatively appealing qualities after many years of political turmoil.
The United Kingdom is divided into 650 constituencies. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament to represent its population in up to five years. Most candidates represent a political party, but some stand as independents.
Voters vote only for their local Member of Parliament.
The political party that wins the most seats in the lower house, which has 650 seats, usually forms the government. The party leader then becomes Prime Minister.
Constituencies were redrawn before the 2024 election to better reflect changes in the population.
A parliament can sit for a maximum of five years from the day it first met. The current parliament met for the first time on December 17, 2019, and would have automatically dissolved on December 17 this year if it had not been done earlier.
The British Parliament consists of two chambers, the elected lower house and the non-elected upper house, which has limited political power.
